Outbound sales is brutal if you’re running after the wrong leads. You can spend days chasing names that’ll never buy, while your real buyers slip through the cracks. This guide is for sales and growth folks who want to stop guessing and start using real data to spot leads who actually care. We’ll walk through how to use Coresignal — a B2B data provider — to prioritize high intent leads, so your outreach lands with the right people.
Let’s get into it.
1. Understand What “High Intent” Really Means (And Why Most Lists Miss It)
Not all leads are equal. Some might fill out a form just to get a whitepaper, others are actually ready to buy. High intent means there are real signals a company or person is in the market for what you sell. But most outbound lists are just big directories—name, job title, industry, maybe size.
Here’s what most companies get wrong: - Relying on job titles: Just because someone’s in “IT” doesn’t mean they’re buying new software. - Looking at company size: Enterprise ≠ interested. Small company ≠ not interested. - Trusting intent data blindly: A lot of “intent” providers are really just measuring who read a blog post.
If you want to actually find high intent, you need fresher, richer data—stuff that gives you clues people are actually evaluating solutions, growing, or changing something.
2. What Coresignal Does (And Doesn’t) Offer
Coresignal isn’t magic, but it’s got a big database of public B2B data—think company profiles, employee info, firmographics, and even some digital footprints. You can use this data to build smarter lists and spot changes that might signal buying intent.
You get: - Fresh company data: headcount trends, new hires, leadership changes, funding rounds, etc. - Professional profiles: who’s working where, skills, seniority, job changes. - Industry datasets: company growth, tech stack signals, and more.
You don’t get: - Direct “this company is ready to buy” alerts. - Pixel-based intent tracking or proprietary web behavior data. - Hand-holding. This is raw data—you need to do the analysis.
Bottom line: Coresignal is a power tool, not a push-button lead machine. If you’re ready to get your hands dirty, it’s got the raw ingredients you need.
3. Step-by-Step: Using Coresignal to Prioritize High Intent Leads
Step 1: Define What High Intent Looks Like For You
Before you touch any data, decide what signals actually matter for your product. Don’t get distracted by shiny data points.
Examples: - Are your best customers hiring for roles that need your tool? - Do they tend to buy after new funding or leadership changes? - Is a spike in headcount a sign they’re scaling up?
Pro tip: Talk to your best customers. Ask what changed before they bought. Use those clues to guide your filters.
Step 2: Pull the Right Coresignal Data
Once you know what you’re looking for, pull the relevant datasets.
- Company dataset: Get firmographics, headcount history, funding events, recent job postings.
- Employee dataset: Look for job changes, new senior hires, or skill trends.
- Tech signals: (If available) See if they’re adopting competing tech or tools you integrate with.
What works: - Focusing on recent changes (not static info). Growth, layoffs, new roles, and funding are all signs of movement. - Filtering for your ICP (ideal customer profile)—don’t waste time on mismatches.
What doesn’t: - Overloading on too many data points. Analysis paralysis is real. - Treating every “interesting” company as a hot lead. Stay focused.
Step 3: Build Your High Intent Lead Scoring
Now, it’s time to turn raw data into something actionable. This doesn’t have to be fancy. You can use a simple scoring system in a spreadsheet.
Here’s a basic framework: - +5: Company raised funding in the last 6 months - +3: Headcount has grown >10% in last quarter - +2: Posted for a role that aligns with your solution (e.g., “RevOps Manager”) - +2: New VP or C-level hire in relevant department - -3: Recent layoffs or headcount decline
Sum the scores for each company. The higher the score, the higher the buying intent—at least in theory.
Pro tip: Start simple, then refine as you see what actually correlates with wins.
Step 4: Enrich with Contact Data (Without Getting Creepy)
Coresignal can help you find the right decision-makers, but don’t get carried away. Not every “Director” is worth emailing. Focus on: - The person who actually feels the pain your product solves. - People who recently changed jobs or got promoted (they’re often open to new solutions). - Avoid sending blanket emails to everyone with “VP” in their title.
What works: - Personalized outreach, referencing a real change (e.g., “Congrats on your funding—here’s how we help companies at your stage.”) - Using public data only. Stay compliant and ethical.
What doesn’t: - Spam blasts. Not only is this a waste, but it’ll get you flagged fast.
Step 5: Prioritize, Reach Out, and Measure What Actually Works
You’ve got your scored list. Now, start from the top and reach out. Track what happens: - Who opens, replies, and takes meetings? - Are your top-scoring leads actually converting, or are you missing something?
Don’t be afraid to tweak your score weights if you notice patterns. Maybe funding matters less than hiring, or maybe leadership changes are the real trigger.
Pro tip: Keep a short feedback loop—update your filters and scoring every month or two, not once a year.
Honesty Corner: What to Ignore and Where to Watch Out
- Don’t expect miracles. Even the best data can’t make every cold email land.
- Don’t get sucked into the “more data = better” trap. Focus on a handful of strong intent signals.
- Don’t over-engineer. If you need a data scientist to explain your scoring, it’s probably too complicated for sales to use.
And remember—no dataset (not even Coresignal’s) is perfectly fresh or complete. Treat it like a starting point, not gospel.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Fast
Chasing high intent leads is about stacking the odds in your favor, not finding a crystal ball. Use Coresignal to get a sharper view of your market, but don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Start with a few key signals, test your approach, and adjust as you go. The best sales teams keep things simple, act fast, and learn from what actually works—not what some vendor promised.
Now, go cut the noise and find your real buyers.